Tag: below knee

Shaylyn, who was born with a bone deformity which led to the amputation of her leg two years ago, recently ran for the first time IN HER LIFE – and she took off like she’d been doing it forever! Afterward, she burst into happy tears, and the rest of us (some won’t admit it) joined her. What an amazing, emotional experience! Shaylyn returned home to Ohio with her mom, and the first thing she did was race her 9 year old sister. 🙂 Then she wrote a letter of thanks and appreciation to all the people who supported her, detailing her visit to POA:

“Dear Friends,
One week in Florida started with our first visit to POA on a Sunday. I was casted and fitted. It was then I found out I’d be receiving two legs – an everyday leg as well as my running leg. This was an unexpected surprise.
Day 2 was once again casted for my new liners and tried out my test socket. My previous leg was a pin lock system and now would be in a suction socket. I was told I was going from a rusted, beat up car to a Tesla!
Day 3 I walked for the first time in my new test socket for everyday leg and took it with me to try out for the day. The difference was amazing, both in weight and comfort.
Day 4 was a short day because the blade for my running leg was too tall and they had to order me a new one.
Day 5 I got my walking everyday leg and my test socket for my running blade. I felt like a kid at Christmas who couldn’t wait to open that special present. I just wanted to run.
Day 6 was my final day with this amazing crew. I ran for the first time in my life. I cried tears of happiness. All the crew were so happy for me and couldn’t believe I had never ran before. It was so natural. This week was amazing. They took a process that takes normally three weeks and made not one, but two legs! I want to send a special thanks to 50legs.org for making this possible as well.”
Shaylynn’s mom added the following note to POA – “Thanks is not enough. You and 50 Legs have changed and enriched Shaylynn’s life. You made Florida feel like home.”

Written by POA client Rebekah (Gregory) Varney, after two recent beach vacations:

“Sometimes it is not until you lose something, that you realize how much you took it for granted. For me it’s my leg. When I think back to everything I could’ve done on two good legs and didn’t, or all the mornings I jumped into the shower without thinking about it etc, I get sad. But instead of dwelling on what could’ve been, I look at now. And now I have a second chance. A second chance to live like I didn’t before. A second chance to do all the things on a fake leg that I didn’t do on two real ones. Is it hard? Insanely. Every day presents new challenges and obstacles than the previous one. But this right here, is the life I have. And that is what I’m thankful for. Living life to the fullest, because I’ve seen what’s it’s like to almost lose it for good.”

Rebekah says that the confidence she has in her prosthesis allows her to embrace all the opportunities she wishes to pursue. #noboundaries

Rebekah wears our transtibial socket system with sealing sleeve and uses a TaiLor Made prosthetic foot, distributed by Ottobock North America, for all activities except water sports. For beach trips and swimming, she switches to a Freedom Innovations swim foot.

The largest-ever Paratriathlon took place at the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Budapest Grand Final, with 85 athletes representing 15 countries taking part. World Champions were crowned in all six Paratriathlon categories, as athletes battled through rainy and cold early morning conditions in the… Hungarian capital. Athletes completed a Sprint-distance triathlon, consisting of a 750-meter swim in the River Danube, a 20K bike along the banks of the River and a 5K run around some of Budapest’s most iconic landmarks.